In connection with many different types of machinery or equipment, internal operative components often generate heat. This heat can potentially be deleterious to the normal operations of the machinery or equipment, or to the various internal operative components themselves, if sufficient cooling of the internal operative components is not provided. The internal operative components may comprise, for example, circuit boards, rotary shafts, bearings, and the like. Accordingly, most machinery or equipment are provided with induction fans which are specifically designed to ingest or induct ambient air into the internal portions of the machinery or equipment so as to in fact provide sufficient cooling to those internal operative components which are generating heat as the machinery or equipment operates. It is also known, however, that the ambient cooling air cannot be simply ingested or, inducted into the internal portions of the machinery or equipment due to the fact that the ambient air usually comprises various particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, which, if unfiltered or otherwise prevented from entering the internal operative regions of the machinery or equipment, could result in the contamination, fouling of the internal operative components of the machinery or equipment which, in turn, could result in the ultimate stoppage or breakdown of the machinery or equipment. Accordingly, such machinery or equipment is usually provided with conventional air filters which may comprise mesh screens, paper or fabric air filters, or the like. Utilizing such types of filters, however, has not proven to be very satisfactory in that these types of filters tend to get fouled or clogged relatively quickly whereby they need to be exchanged, cleaned, or replaced within a relatively short period of time by maintenance personnel. These necessary procedures of course lead to significant accumulative down time in order to permit the maintenance personnel to perform the necessary maintenance or cleaning operations.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved filtering system for preventing particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, from being ingested or inducted into the internal regions of machinery or equipment as a result of being entrained within the ingested cooling air so as not to contaminate or foul the internal operative components of the machinery or equipment. Another need exists in the art for a new and improved filtering system which will prevent particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, from being ingested into the internal regions of the machinery or equipment as a result of being entrained within the ingested or inducted cooling air, and which will effectively overcome the operational drawbacks characteristic of filtering systems which are conventionally being used in connection with various different types of machinery or equipment. Still another need exists in the art for a new and improved filtering system for not only preventing particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, from being ingested into internal operative regions of the machinery or equipment as a result of being entrained within the ingested or inducted cooling air, but in addition, will more efficiently remove the particulates, contaminants, dirt, grease, or the like from the ingested cooling air such that the frequency of maintenance operations, comprising the replacement, exchange, or cleaning of the filtering system, can be minimized. Still yet another need exists in the art for a new and improved filtering system for not only preventing particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, from being ingested into internal operative regions of the machinery or equipment as a result of being entrained within the ingested cooling air, but in addition, when maintenance operations, comprising the exchange, replacement, or cleaning of the filtering system, are required, the filtering system can be quickly removed, cleaned, exchanged, or replaced. Yet still another need exists in the art for a new and improved filtering system for preventing particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, from being ingested into internal operative regions of the machinery or equipment as a result of being entrained within the ingested or inducted cooling air so as to effectively enhance the service life of the particular machinery or equipment. A still yet further need exists in the art for a new and improved filtering system for preventing particulates, contaminants, grease, dirt, or the like, from being ingested into internal operative regions of the machinery or equipment as a result of being entrained within the ingested cooling air wherein the new and improved filtering system can effectively be provided as an original component upon the machinery or equipment when the machinery or equipment is originally manufactured or the filtering system can be added to existing machinery or equipment.